Bunny!
by Safaia Bara
Summary: When Oogie's Boys kidnapped the Easter Bunny, they weren't expecting a six foot, Australian rabbit with a slight temper...


Hey! I'm almost done with chapter two of "Dispensable", but this has been begging me to write it for months. I thought of it after the first time I watched NBC since I'd seen RotG. One of my favorite scenes in NBC is when Oogie's Boys accidentally capture the Easter Bunny. The first thing that popped into my head was, "E. Aster Bunnymund is _not_ a coward!" and…this is where the plot bunnies took me. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Rise of the Guardians. The characters and story are the property of Dreamworks Animation and William Joyce. Nor do I own The Nightmare Before Christmas. The characters and story are the property of Tim Burton and Walt Disney Pictures.

* * *

A chilling, squealing noise roused Jack from his light slumber. It was nearing Christmas, and Jack had spent the last few days making sure that it would be a white Christmas wherever he possibly could. He deserved a little peace and quiet, thank you very much.

As the sound grew closer, Jack sighed. _'Might as well see what's going on.' _The winter sprite stretched and felt a few kinks pop in his back. Even after three-hundred years, sleeping on a tree limb wasn't the most comfortable spot.

He began floating towards the sound, realizing a few minutes later that the shrill racket was actually the sound of children singing…loudly and off-key. Unfortunately, he couldn't make out any of what they were saying. He saw three children skipping through the woods followed by a…a walking bathtub? And was that sack in it…moving? Things were just getting weirder and weirder.

Jack stealthily followed behind them. Something felt off. Wrong. And if something was wrong in his forest, he was going to find out what it was. After another half hour of tailing them, he reached a place in the forest he'd never seen before. It was a small meadow, perfectly circular, surrounded by several trees with strange markings on them; a dreidel, a heart, a clover, an Easter egg, a turkey, a Christmas tree, and a Jack-o-lantern, each with what appeared to be a doorknob sticking out of it.

Jack hid behind a tree further away and watched as the kids, whom he now noticed were wearing Halloween costumes, complete with masks, stopped in front of the pumpkin. A girl dressed as a witch turned the nose, what was apparently the knob, and opened a door which she and the other two children entered, followed by the tub. He could faintly hear muffled yelling coming from the sack, but couldn't quite understand it.

The door remained open behind them and he slipped through, leaving his forest behind and stepping right into the middle of a misty, creepy cemetery.

Jack floated around the gravestones. He refused to touch the dirt on the ground that was nearly as dark as Pitch's Nightmare sand.

He could faintly hear the children in the distance and flew a little faster, catching sight of them as they passed over a rickety bridge and through a set of twisted metal gates. He followed behind them cautiously, leapt on rooftops so as not to be seen by anyone who may be milling about.

Jack watched as they marched with an air of purpose into what looked like a Town Hall. He flew into the building behind them and hid up in the rafters, high enough to stay out of sight, but still close enough to see and hear everything clearly. What he saw nearly made him fall out of the rafters.

A walking, talking skeleton seemed to be explaining the workings of a nutcracker to an creature with an axe sticking out of its skull.

* * *

The three children cawed excitedly as they entered the room, "Jack! Jack! We caught him! We got him!"

Jack Skellington grinned as he walked away from Behemoth and strode down the steps, wringing his hands in anticipation, "Perfect! Open it up. Quickly!"

The bag burst open and out hopped E. Aster Bunnymund, "Bloody hell! Wha' happened?" he half yelled, rubbing a rather large knot forming on his forehead. Bunny shook his head and blinked as he tried to regain the use of his senses. He looked around, "Oh strewth, where am I?" When he saw the skeleton talking with the children, he wasn't overly surprised; he didn't, by any means, know every spirit that walked the earth. These people were most likely autumn spirits, or Halloween ones to be more precise. He was from another planet, nothing really surprised him anymore.

The winter sprite looked down at the scene with amusement. _'So, Bunny was the one trapped in the sack. I wonder how _he_ liked it.'_ Jack continued to watch; he knew Bunny could handle himself. And he was there if the oversize rabbit needed some back-up.

The Pumpkin King groaned and rubbed his own head in aggravation, "That's not Sandy Claws!" he scolded.

"It isn't?" the young girl questioned.

The chubby boy added, "Who is it?"

Bunnymund, tired of being ignored, interrupted their conversation, "Oi, anyone wanna tell me exactly wha's goin' on here?"

The group looked at him curiously. The boy with the devil's mask pointed at him accusingly, "You can talk!"

Aster rolled his eyes, "'Course I can talk. Looks like ya got a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock there, kid. Now," he turned towards Jack with a scowl on his face, "ya min' tellin' me why ya brought me here? If this is some kinda sick joke-" Bunny caught himself as his ears went erect. He spun around to see a creature standing not two feet away from him.

Behemoth had walked up behind him to get a better look. He pointed at Bunnymund and shouted in his face, "Bunny!" Aster nearly jumped a foot in the air in surprise, taking a step back and pulling a boomerang out of its holster, "Ya better back up, mate, or I ain' gonna be responsible fer my actions," he warned, but took a few steps back himself instead.

Jack Frost couldn't stop the giggle that escaped him at the shocked look on the Pooka's face. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand when he saw Bunny's ears and nose twitch. He huddled further into the shadows.

"_Frostbite!_"

Lock, Shock, Barrel, and Jack stared at him in bewilderment, "Um, Sir? Are you alright?" Jack questioned politely, but Bunnymund paid him no mind.

"Jack, I know yer up there! Get down here ya lil' wanker, before I do somethin' I may or may not regret later!"

Jack Skellington spoke a little louder, trying o get his attention, "Sir, I'm right here, No need to get upset. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience."

Bunny looked at him like he'd grown a second head, "Inconvenience? _Inconvenience!_ Those little brats of yers attacked me in my sleep! Gave me a right big bump on the noggin, if ya didn' notice," he hissed, pointing to said lump. He heard another muffled chuckle coming from above them, "I said get down here, ya bloody show pony, _now_!"

Not wanting to face the ultimate wrath of the Easter Bunny, Jack gracefully leapt down from his hiding spot in the rafters, "Hey, Kangaroo, what's up?" his voice shook slightly, either with fear or laughter, Bunny wasn't sure.

Bunnymund glared at him, "'Wha's up'? Bloody hell, Jack! Wha' d'ya mean 'Wha's up'? Wha's all this nonsense abou'?"

Jack shrugged, "For once, I have no idea. I had nothing to do with it," he pointed to the children with his staff, "I saw those kids wandering around in my forest and decided to follow them. I didn't know you were in the sack. By the way, how'd ya like the ride in that thing, huh? Not the most comfortable way to travel, is it," he smirked at Bunny.

Skeleton Jack tried to diffuse the situation, "Excuse me, I'm sorry that they caused so much trouble for you. They were trying to find someone else for me."

"If tha's the way ya treat all of yer guests, then ya need ta work on yer people skills, ya dim-wit."

The Pumpkin King cleared his throat, "Yes, well, again, I apologize. I will have them escort you home if you'd like."

Jack grinned, "Nah, I know the way back. C'mon, Cottontail, race ya back to Burgess."

Bunny, though still miffed about the whole ordeal, felt it would be best to let his competitive side take over for the time being, "I told ya, ya don' wanna race a rabbit, mate."

The winter sprite's grin widened as he tapped he butt of his shepherd's crook to the stone floor, "Starting point's the city gate," he said as he meandered out the door slowly with Bunny at his side.

Jack Skellington watched the two of them leave before turning on his henchmen.

"_What happened?_"

Lock stuttered, "We followed your instructions…"

"We went through the door…" Barrel added, just as nervous.

Jack growled at them in anger, "Which door? There's more than one! Sandy Claws is behind the door shaped like _this_." He held up aChristmas cookie in shape of tree, dangling it in front of them.

"I told you!" Shock shoved Lock and they started to tussle.

Jack buried his face in his hand and after a moment stretched out his jaw and let out a bloodcurdling scream. The three children gasp in fright, "Now, let's try this again, shall we? And be careful with Sandy Claws when you fetch him. Treat him nicely," he warned.

" Got it."

" We'll get it right…"

" Next time," the three children chorused as they started to walk away.

* * *

As they reached the bottom step of the hall Jack chuckled, "So, Cottontail, you got your butt kicked by three little kids, huh?"

"Ah, rack off, ya dill."

Jack grasped Bunny's shoulder, bringing him to a halt, "Hang on." Bunny looked at him in confusion. Jack began counting down on his fingers.

Three…

Two…

One…

Three shrill shrieks echoed from inside the hall.

"Jack…wha' did ya do?"

Jack grinned at the Pooka, "All I did was ice over the floor beneath the kids' feet. No one messes with _my_ Cottontail but _me_."

Bunny grinned back at him, "Yer a right larrikin, ya know tha'?"

Jack laughed and hopped into the air, "Race ya to the gate, Kangaroo!" he called as he flew off.

"Oi! I ain' a kangaroo, mate!" Bunny took a step, but his feet slipped out from underneath him and his tail suddenly felt cold. He looked down and saw that he was sitting on a patch of ice.

"Frostbite!" His only response was Jack's laughter.

* * *

How was it? Review and tell me what you thought, please. I'm pretty sure I kept Frost and Bunnymund in-character, but I'm not too sure about the NBC cast. Let me know! Later!

*SB*


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